Willow Creek Community Church to open in Glenview

Walking down the main hallway of the newly constructed church, lead pastor Steve Gillen said that Willow Creek Community Church was built in a circle so people can find their way around, and experience nature by looking at the building's two courtyards.

Willow Creek Community Church, 2200 Shermer Road, Glenview, opens its doors Dec. 3, Gillen said. The 72,000-square-foot church was designed in a circle, based on a Bible passage where Jesus says that all people need is the faith of a mustard seed to get through a difficult time, he said.

"They hoped the architecture itself reminds people of that teaching," he said. "You just need faith of a mustard seed."

The church, which has eight locations in the Chicago area, is moving from its rented space in a Northfield school, where it has been located for 14 years, to Glenview because it needs a permanent location, he said.

An auditorium-style room with a stage and seating for 1,200 people, where two Sunday morning services will be held, is located in the center of the church, Gillen said.

Rooms for infants through young adults are outside the main auditorium, Gillen said.

There are seven children's rooms, each designated by a different color door so children and parents can quickly find the appropriate room, Gillen said. Middle schoolers and high schoolers each have their spaces, he said.

The church looked for a permanent North Shore location for 10 years, and it took more than 4 years to work with Glenview village officials and to design and build the new church, Gillen said. At the beginning of the project, Glenview residents expressed concerns about traffic near the church, so church officials agreed to move the property further north on Shermer Road to lessen the impact on traffic, he said.

"To find a big church that fit with neighbors really was the major challenge. We are thrilled with this. We never thought we'd be able to do a ground-up build. We always thought we would have to buy a building and retrofit it," Gillen said.

Marty Howe, a church volunteer, said the church community is excited about the new location because the design is unique, and because it will give residents a "church home."

"It's beautiful," Howe said. "We are really excited about it for the people who are going to be coming, especially those who are going to be new."

Judy Kron of Park Ridge, a longtime church volunteer who directs a women's ministry, said the new church will give the women involved a central place to meet.

"We've been very limited because of having school during the day, and we've been unable to host daytime Bible studies or different things for women on our current campus," she said.

After the Dec. 3 opening, the church will offer architecture tours through the month of December, and beginning in January residents are free to visit the church on their own time, Gillen said.